The face of Brisbane’s housing market has started to change in line with adult children living with their parents longer

Annette and Warren Denny have downsized after accommodating their adult children for many years.

THE face of Brisbane’s housing market has started to change in line with adult children living with their parents longer.

Architects are being called more often to adapt housing to suit the needs of dual living, and families have found inventive ways to alter their homes to accommodate numerous adults under one roof.

University of Queensland urban and social planner Laurel Johnson said there were more secondary dwelling developments now as more children stayed at home longer.

“Also known as granny flats, the secondary dwelling appears to be making a comeback in our metropolitan area,’’ Ms Johnson said.

The views from 179 Ninth Ave, St Lucia

“Where people have a big enough yard, the secondary dwelling is a good option, not costing much more than an extension.

“It can generally be developed without town planning approval and the costs of a subdivision don’t apply. The secondary dwelling is simply added to the title of the existing dwelling. This is a fully independent living space, without the cost of buying a separate parcel of land.’’

Ms Johnson said councils once required that only grandparents could occupy a second dwelling, but this had changed.

179 Ninth Ave, St Lucia

“Now the second dwelling is being occupied by a range of family members including teenage and adult children and other extended family members.’’

Ms Johnson said in Brisbane, a secondary dwelling could be up to 80sq m, as long as it was within 20m of the main house – bigger than many new one-bedroom units.

Archicentre director Peter Georgiev said it was a bit of “back to the future’’ as for many years European and Asian families had lived multi-generationally.

“In the 21st century we are seeking to “design” this idea,’’ he said.

Mr Georgiev said it was not so much about adding value in terms of increasing the sale price but it added value to the lives of people developing these homes, so the property often remained in the same family for a long time.

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“If – when – they come onto the real estate market and another family finds a “goodness of fit”, this will be a fortuitous occurrence rather than a deliberate aim.’’

When Annette and Warren Denny built their St Lucia home five years ago, front of mind was to allow their three adult children to remain there and to accommodate them comfortably.

“We purposely built this house to have our adult children at home,” Mrs Denny said. “It’s close to UQ where they went to university. We wanted to help them as they finished their degrees and then searched for their first jobs, which don’t often pay very well.

“We went from a family of five to eight as our children’s partners came along too. The house worked perfectly and we honestly loved having them here.

The bedrooms are completely separate, each has an ensuite and study area.

Mr Denny said they had always considered the stage in life of their children in designing and building their homes. They believed young people needed a degree to enhance employment chances and many could not afford to do this and live out of home at the same time.

“We gave our architect a brief to design the largest house he could fit on the site.

“They (the children) were rarely seen, preferring to study and watch movies in the comfort of their bedroom chambers.’’

They couple have bought a renovated Queenslander at New Farm which is half the size of the St Lucia home.

179 Ninth Ave, St Lucia was built with accommodating adult children front of mind.

“On signing the contract, the child eviction program became a reality for our children,’’ Mr Denny said.

“Our house is officially on the market to be sold with no residual child issues.’’

Ms Goodger said now more than ever, new build homes often had a separate bathroom and bedroom to cater for families with older children. Lachlan Walker of Place Advisory said there was a lot of work going on in Brisbane with people “future proofing’’ their homes.

“Particularly in those inner city regions within the first five kms, there is a lot of renovation happening to add value and to accommodate all family types,” he said.

Mr Walker said one of those family types was parents living with adult children.

Accommodating them was not as simple as just adding another bedroom, there needed to be separate living areas so everyone felt they had their own space.

“I think it is adding value and increasing the marketability.’’

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